Rapid marker-disposal bingo game board holder



March 12, 1957 F. J. NEMEC RAPID MARKER-DISPOSAL BINGO GAME BOARD HOLDER Filed Feb. 16, 1956 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAI III/[III] za'efzf FRANK J. NEMEC United States Patent 2,784,973 RAPID MARKER-DISPOSAL BINGO GAME BOARD HOLDER Frank J. Nemec, Whippany, N. J. Application February 16, 1956, Serial No. 565,890

' 1 Claim. or. 273-148) The invention relates in general to game apparatus and has particular reference to a playing board peculiarly adapted for use in the game of Bingo.

In this game, each player draws as many playing cards for each game as he can handle within his ability, which requires alertness, quick perception of opportunities to make a play, and manual dexterity. Each card is divided into twenty-five squares arranged in five rows horizontally and vertically. The vertical rows are respectively denoted from left to right by the letters B-I-N-G-O printed along the top margin of the card. All twenty-five squares are numbered in various combinations and arrangements of numerals and the several cards used in the game have different combinations and arrangements. Actually, in a game involving a large number of players, the possible mathematical combinations may be exhausted so that some players have to be issued cards that are duplicates of others used in the same game. In playing the game, numbered and lettered pills are drawn in rapid succession by chance and their readings are announced to the players. As each reading is announced, any player who has a correspondingly marked square on his card, such as Bl, I68, N32, G8 or 050, places a marker on that square. This continues until some player has completely filled the five squares of a horizontal or vertical row, or one of the two diagonal rows, and is the first player to do this. There upon, that player calls Bingo and will be adjudged a Winner if his play has been correct. Of course, more than one person may happen to succeed in filling a row of squares at the same time and may win equally with the other player, or players.

Some players possessing aptitude for the game in a high degree are able to play on as many as four cards at a time, so it should be appreciated that great speed of play is a characteristic of the game of Bingo.

At the end of each game, a new one is commenced with minimum delay, so each player must clear his card, or cards, of markers as quickly as more substituted cards. If not ready when the calling of the readings of drawn pills is resumed, a serious disadvantage may be sulfered at the outset of the new game.

Ordinarily, the individual playing cards issued to each player are laid in front of him on the table at which he is seated and his markers are deposited in a pile alongside the cards, with the result that handling of markers is diflicult at a crowded table and there is likely to be confusion of one players markers with those of another.

It therefore is my primary object to provide an individual playing board for the game of Bingo which a devotee may own and carry to all games with him. In ac cordance with the invention, the board will be made large enough in playing area to support at least four Bingo cards and is provided with integral trays for rapid disposal of markers at the end of each game. Moreover, the board is divided into hinged sections and the tray also is divided into sections which unite to form a storage box when the board is collapsed. The structure and its tray sections is such that the markers may be swept olf the playing cards into the tray sections with a minimum of effort in an instant of time, and without spilling any of them.

Further objects, tion will become apparent as the following specific description is read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the board in operative condition and mounted in playing position on a table, shown broken away;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the board in collapsed, inoperative condition; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section on line 3-3 Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views, Figs. 1 and 3 represent the improved playing board 10 in opened-out operative condition and supported in playing position on the table T. Board is rectangular in plan view and preferably large enough in horizontal area to mount four, conventional Bingo playingcards (not shown) in the positions outlined in dot-and-dash lines C. The board is divided into side-by-si'de horizontally co-planar alignable sections 11 and 12, which sections are joined at their meeting edges by flexible strip 13, or equivalent hinge forming means, so that sections 11 and 12 may be folded into the collapsed, inoperative condition represented in Fig. 2 on the hinge-line 14 at the end of a completed series of games.

At corresponding marginal portions of the respective playing board sections 11 and 12, which. will be those portions intended to be arranged facing the player when seated at the table T, two identical tray sections 15 and 16 are formed rigidly integral with said board sections. It is essential to the cooperative relationship of the tray sections and their corresponding board sections 11 and 12, respectively, during the playing of a game that each tray section shall be rigid and with integral playing board sec tion, as previously intimated, and that it shall be arranged in depending relation to said board section so that the upper playing surface17 of the board section will be perfectly flush with the rim 18 of said tray section. This relative arrangement makes it possible to sweep the markber of cards being played, very rapidly and accurately into the adjacent tray section, or sections. Moreover, the rear vertical wall faces 19 and 20 of the respective tray sections 15 and 16 will be in the same vertical plane and adapted to closely abut the front edge face t of supporting table T. The arrangement in this respect is similar to that of a draftsmans T-square and drawing board and facilitates quick table-orientation of playing board 10 at the commencement of play and sustained orientation throughout the game. This is an important feature because the playing cards issued for the game are printed on thin, light cardboard and the markers are small and light in structure (dried beans and corn kernels sometimes being used) so that any accidental rocking or horizontal slipping of the playing board 10 on the table might be disastrous. The player might not be able to properly relocate any displaced markers so his chances of successfully continuing play could be spoiled.

At the end of a series of games, such as an evenings play, the player may use his tray sections to store and transport all of his markers home for use in another series of games at a later date. All that is necessary at the end of play is to fold one board section over the other section in superimposed relation thereto into the inoperative collapsed condition shown in Fig. 2. This should be of the playing board advantages and features of the invendone slowly and while the underneath board and tray sections are still table-oriented so that any markers contained in the tray section being tipped up will flow in an arcuate-stream into the undisturbed tray section. After the rims of the, tray sections are in close abutment, so thatboth sections cooperate to completely forma storage box for the markers, the similarly abutting and coextensive playing board sections may be fastened together by some simple means suchas the elastic band F. 1

bItWilI be understood that it is intend ,d to cover. all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit of the invention and scope of the-appended claims.

I claim:

A game board adapted to support at least one playing card on which markers are placed, in an arrangement related to the game being played, said board comprising: a flat solid rectangular board proper; and a marker-receiving tray extending along the front marginal portion of said board proper and being formed rigidly integral therewith and in depending relation thereto with the rim of the tray flush with the upper card-supporting surface of said board pnoper, whereby markers may be swept rapidly from the playing card into the tray without obstruction said tray being rectangular in horizontal and vertical cross-section along its major and minor axes and having a flat vertical rear wall projecting below the board proper and adapted to abut the front edge only of a table to orient the position of the game board in relation thereto, said board proper and tray being divided substantially medially in a front-tomcat vertical plane into collapsible side-by-side sections having abutting inner side Walls; and horizontal hinge means connecting the meeting edges of the respective board sections and of the tray sections along the rims of the inner side walls thereof, whereby when one of the sections of the board proper and the corresponding tray section are swung inward on the hing? means into superimposed relation to the other board and tray sccti-onsthe first mentioned tray section will register precisely with the second-mentioned tray section to dump any game markers contained in the former into the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

